Data protection is becoming more and more important, while at the same time the amount of data is increasing rapidly. Without a strategic approach, companies are lost. Exterro shows how companies overcome the four major hurdles on the way to GDPR compliance.
The large variety of compliance and data protection regulations alone is an enormous challenge. Companies have to comply with different regulations worldwide and even within Europe, which is made more difficult by the fact that these regulations are constantly changing. They are therefore faced with the difficult task of continuously adapting their internal processes so that they always comply with all specifications. Not doing so can have serious consequences as violations are increasingly sanctioned.
Four steps to GDPR compliance
- maintaining a data inventory. Put simply, if organizations don't know where their data is, who has access to it, and who is responsible for it within their organization, it's not possible to comply with data protection regulations. The problem gets worse every day that a company fails to update or maintain its data inventory. In order to create a comprehensive data inventory, it is therefore important to record and take into account all locations and data sources - whether file servers, cloud services or mail systems. Modern solutions also determine the processes in which this data is integrated, the retention periods they are subject to and support the definition of deletion processes. Since data is constantly being edited or copied, or new data is added, the initial collection of data is not enough – the inventory needs to be updated regularly. To ensure that this happens quickly and does not take up too many IT resources, smart tools use statistical methods, among other things, to detect changes in data and access.
- Managing requests for data access. The processing of information or deletion requests according to GDPR can be very time-consuming due to the constantly growing amount of data and the increasing number of data sources - especially if many such Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR), also known as data subject access requests in this country, arrive. Those responsible for this usually work with extensive lists and tables, which leads to countless queries to colleagues in order to gather all the necessary information. However, manual processes are time-consuming and error-prone. They are also completely unsuitable for data breaches that require reporting to the competent authority within 72 hours and notification of those affected. A modern solution offers automated and easily customizable workflows for all tasks and activities along the entire DSAR process, reducing the time required to minutes.
- Reducing Third-Party Risks. One thing that tends to go under the radar when it comes to GDPR compliance is third-party providers. More precisely, which partners and service providers have access to company data? And which ones are dangerous? Third parties that work with sensitive company data but employ lax security practices increase the risk of a data breach. A modern solution for GDPR compliance creates risk profiles for the different partners. With these, companies are able to identify possible dangers in advance and to react to them appropriately.
- Dealing with data breaches. Depending on the type of breach, a company must notify regulators or customers whose data is affected and retain records investigating the breach for a specific time frame. The exact requirements depend on the jurisdictions where the breaches took place and the regulations that apply to that data. However, the decision to report on incidents in many organizations is a combination of objective and subjective considerations – including when determining the actual severity of the incident. Properly orchestrating and communicating the notification process is critical to being defensible in the event of data breaches and other incidents. Modern solutions support an automated reporting procedure that also stands up in court.
“Today, no company can afford to be grossly negligent when handling personal data from consumers and customers – the image damage would be enormous and the fines imposed could also be really expensive. However, very few companies are well prepared for this. Trying to ensure GDPR compliance with manually maintained Excel spreadsheets is simply impossible,” explains Istvan Puskas, Director Sales DACH Corporate at Exterro. “With an intelligent software platform like Exterro Legal GRC, all processes related to GDPR compliance are carefully orchestrated. In this way, companies can ensure that they meet all e-discovery and data protection requirements – and comply with legal requirements at all times.”
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About exterro Exterro provides legal governance, risk and compliance software that the world's largest corporations, law firms and government agencies use to proactively manage and protect their complex data protection, cybersecurity compliance, legal operations and digital forensics processes. The software is the only one in the industry that combines all legal GRC requirements within a single platform and offers extensive automation capabilities.